A load of crap

The realization downed on Leo like the most shocking piece of news. No wonder she could say things that only Lola had said before. No wonder she reminded him of Lola. No, wrong. She did not remind him of Lola, she WAS Lola!

He shot to his feet and dashed to the door. Only when his fingers connected with the doorknob did he stop to think. Where was he going? To the Mansion of Black? To tell her that he was sure she was Lola and force her to admit it?

And then what? Re-ignite their friendship and whatever else they had blossoming between them before she disappeared?

Bombard her with questions?

He was not stupid. He knew that the reason why she practically vanished and came back years later with a different identity to go against his family; was the same reason why she would definitely cut all their present ties if she knew that he had figured out who she really was. But, wasn't it strange to think of the same person as two people, or of two people as the same person? He still wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Leo suddenly remembered how she had deliberately said some of those things that Lola had said before. She was obviously giving him hints. So was he supposed to know or not? Should he feign ignorance?

And why did it matter so much?

Leo peeked at the share transfer contract from the corner of his eye. Coming to a decision, he grabbed it.

When Leo left his room, he could hear roars of cheer from the living room. This was the first time since Shera appeared in their lives that the air was filled with genuine happiness.

Julius Qin, Helen Qin and their sons were toasting with champagne as they squealed and celebrated about something. Of course, they had excluded Leo and of course, he did not give a damn about it.

He only passed by briefly to coldly say, "I bought the shares."

No one even saw him, much less hear what he was saying -- and he was glad they did not. Or rather, glad that they ignored his presence and paid zero attention to his words.

Once he went on his way, they resumed the chatter they didn't know they had paused when he approached.

_

The Mansion of Black.

"Master, Leo Qin betrayed you." Purple was so hurt that one would think she was the one who had been betrayed.

On the other hand, Shera was unfazed. She was shocked, obviously, but then again, she should have seen it coming.

"Leo did not betray me." She muttered to Purple. Her shoulders sprung into an indifferent shrug. "Leo Qin did not pledge his loyalty to me. He did not swear to be on my side… Forget a verbal promise. Rien, nada."

"Well…" that was true, Purple had nothing to say about it.

"Forget about him already. Let's talk about you. Cedric Qin has taken the bait. Now you should get close to him. Remember, never make the first move. Let him think it is one-sided on his part."

"I understand."

Purple was going to ask about something when Ash reported that Leo was here. Slightly annoyed, Shera dismissed them and went to meet Leo.

The man was occupying Shera's favorite seat in the living room like it was his territory.

She scoffed and slumped on the cough on Leo's right. "What are you doing here, occupying my seat like a newly appointed king? Are you waiting to address your new subjects or what?"

Leo crossed his legs leisurely, imitating what she always did when she was about to say something mean. "That coming from the woman whose hobby is to barge into people's territories is sarcastic. Didn't anyone teach you to be fair, Shera Black?"

"Fairness is a load of crap." She spat out coldly.

All the other times, Leo had taken her cold retorts as a way to end topics she no longer wanted to talk about.

But now that he was paying extra attention to her eyes, he was sure that something in her gaze dimmed when she said those words.

It made his heart clench. For his Lola to become such a cold-hearted, feelingless person who knows nothing but scheme against other people, just what had she been through?

"Stop giving me that expression of pity. It's disgusting." Shera chided.

Leo realized he had unintentionally clenched his fists and probably looked at her in a way that suggested pity. "Oh sorry. I just thought…"

"You thought what? I need pity? Even if I needed it, it wouldn't be from a Qin."

"Let's just talk business." He changed the topic before it escalated into a scuffle.

"Are you here to threaten me with the shares you bought from CT Corporation? Let me guess. You are going to make me leave your family alone?"

"Don't think too lowly of me, Miss Black." Leo's lips twitched. "I would get at least forty percent if I wanted that."

He looked into the depth of her eyes tauntingly. "I'm indeed here to exchange your shares…" he paused to let his words tease her before leaning into her ear. "But for something else."

Shera had a bad premonition. "What?"

"Answers, Shera Black." He whispered in her ear.